Health Tip: Exercising With Back Pain

(HealthDay News) -- If you have chronic back pain, it can periodically put you out of commission and onto the couch.




Once you're feeling better, exercise can help prevent another bout with an aching back.

You should always check with your doctor before you begin any new activity. But here are some general guidelines about exercise and back pain, courtesy of the University of Michigan Health System:

• Low-impact exercises such as walking, swimming or biking generally are safe for a sore back.
• If your muscles feel sore or tight, take a warm shower before exercising.
• Wear loose clothing, and don't wear shoes.
• Stop any exercise that causes pain
• Avoid exercises such as sit-ups, hip twists, toe touches, or any that involve backward arching.
• Avoid impact sports such as soccer, football and volleyball.
• Avoid any activity that may stress your back, such as lifting heavy weights.

Health Tip: Help Prevent a Herniated Disk

(HealthDay News) -- A herniated (sometimes called "ruptured") disk in the back or neck can cause severe pain and numbness.

Disks are the soft, rubbery pads found between the spine's vertebrae. When stressed or overused from wear-and-tear, the center of the disk can push through its outer edge, putting pressure on nearby sensitive nerves.

The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons lists these common risk factors for herniated disks:

• Lifting objects the wrong way.


• Smoking.


• Being overweight, which causes stress on the spine.


• Applying sudden pressure, even slight, on the spine.


• Engaging in repetitive strenuous activities.

After Fits and Starts, New Hope for Psoriasis Patients

(HealthDay News) -- Psoriasis can be a maddening disease.

Patches of thick, inflamed skin covered with silvery scales form here and there on the patient's body, often on the elbows, knees, other parts of the legs, scalp, lower back, face, palms, and soles of the feet. They usually itch or feel sore, and the more of the patches there are, generally, the worse the person suffers.

And because psoriasis is a genetic condition that causes inflammation by striking at the immune system, it can have other health effects. An estimated 10 percent to 30 percent of people with psoriasis also develop psoriatic arthritis, which causes pain, stiffness and swelling in and around the joints, according to the National Psoriasis Foundation.

Psoriasis sufferers also have higher rates of cardiovascular disease and other systemic health problems, said Dr. Jennifer Cather, a Dallas dermatologist and a member of the Baylor University Medical Center's Division of Dermatology.

"Often patients think psoriasis is just a rash, [but] it is a systemic inflammatory disease with far-reaching affects," Cather said. "Patients should be aware of that and understand that controlling that systemic inflammation can help with other diseases."

That's a message doctors are looking to share during August, Psoriasis Awareness Month.

Until recently, there was little that could be done about the systemic damage done by psoriasis. Sufferers used topical creams to ease their itches or aches, or underwent expensive ultraviolet light treatments that disrupted the surface spread of psoriasis but did not address the underlying problems within the immune system.

But the past few years have seen the development of a new wave of drug treatments known as biologics. These medications do what previous treatments could not -- go after the root of the problem by influencing the immune system.

"It's really changed the way we can treat psoriasis," said Dr. Lawrence Green, assistant professor of dermatology at George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C. "It really has made life much more tolerable for patients."

Psoriasis occurs when the body's immune system is somehow mistakenly triggered, which speeds up the growth cycle of skin cells, according to the National Psoriasis Foundation. Normal skin cells mature and fall off the body in 28 to 30 days. A psoriatic skin cell takes just three to four days to mature and move to the surface, and, instead of falling off, the cells pile up and form lesions.

According to the National Institutes of Health, as many as 7.5 million Americans have psoriasis.

Biologics are made from human or animal proteins, and they treat psoriasis by going after the overactive immune cells causing the disease.

"They are based on natural processes," Green said. "They're similar to chemicals or compounds we already have in our system. They help lessen immune responses. They help soak up or diminish the extra inflammatory compounds."

Currently, five biologics are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for treatment of psoriasis, and three of those five are approved for psoriatic arthritis. Biologics are effective, and they also are more affordable than ultraviolet therapy, the other leading treatment for dealing with medium-to-severe cases of psoriasis, according to dermatologists.

Ultraviolet light kills the immune cells in the skin that are causing the problem, Cather said. The problem is, a person must come in three to five times a week for treatment, racking up hundreds of dollars in co-payments.

Biologics, by comparison, are self-administered through injection. The patient usually must inject the medication somewhere between twice-weekly to once every other week, Cather said.

Patients undergoing biologic therapy need to have periodic re-evaluations by their dermatologist to check for the development of new symptoms, including infections and potential cancers, according to guidelines issued earlier this year by the American Academy of Dermatology.

More information
To learn more about psoriasis, visit the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

Health Tip: Beating Backpack Pain

(HealthDay News) -- Backpacks can cause back pain and injury if they are too heavy or don't offer enough support.

Keep these guidelines in mind when choosing and wearing a backpack, courtesy of the National Safety Council:

• Always wear both straps, so that the weight is distributed across both shoulders and evenly across the back.


• A backpack should always be centered across the middle of the back.


• Try not to overload the backpack. Keep it from getting too heavy.


• Place the heaviest items closest to the back.


• When lifting the backpack, bend at the knees and lift with your legs.